Last year's grand prize winner, Jessica Whitaker (center), flanked by Leslie Hooker from Dow Agrosciences (left) and Betsy Ward (right).

ARLINGTON, VA -- The USA Rice Federation is conducting a National Rice Month (NRM) scholarship contest, sponsored by Dow AgroSciences.  Rising high school seniors from rice-growing counties in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas are eligible to apply.

To qualify to win a USA Rice National Rice Month Scholarship, students must conduct a promotion activity in their local community during September with U.S.-grown rice as the central theme.  Scholarship entries will be judged on their creativity and impact in promoting U.S.-grown rice, NRM and the importance of rice in their state.  USA Rice encourages students to invest some of their summer vacation time in planning an innovative rice promotion campaign for a chance to win a scholarship.

The grand prize is a $4,000 scholarship and a trip to the 2014 USA Rice Outlook Conference in Little Rock, AR, for the scholarship presentation.  The second-place winner will receive $3,000 and third-place, $1,500. Entries are due October 13.

September is National Rice Month - a time for America to salute its rice farmers and everyone involved in the U.S. rice industry.  NRM was initiated by an act of Congress in 1991 and is conducted by the USA Rice Federation.  For more information and entry form, visit the scholarship web page.

Contact: Amy Doane, (703) 236-1454

WASHINGTON, DC -- This week the Senate confirmed three new members of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that is responsible for protecting the integrity of commodity markets, including the rice futures market, and determining how derivatives rules will be implemented.  Tim Massad was confirmed as Chairman along with two new commissioners, J. Christopher Giancarlo and Sharon Bowen. Massad and Giancarlo were both confirmed without opposition by voice vote, while Bowen faced heavy opposition and was confirmed by only two votes.  Massad and Bowen both fill Democrat seats on the Commission while Giancarlo fills a Republican seat.

Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said, "I am hopeful that [Massad] will reverse recent Commission actions that seem to ignore concerns of our farmers and ranchers, as well as pursue commonsense reforms that will bring certainty to the marketplace for America's manufacturers, energy firms, and utilities."

"We are pleased that the CFTC is now operating with a full slate of commissioners," said John Owen, chairman of the USA Rice Producers' Group and head of the industry's working group on futures market issues.  "We look forward to getting to know the new commissioners and their staff as we continue to monitor the futures market for rice and seek opportunities to further enhance the functioning and liquidity of the rice contract."

Contact:  Reece Langley, (703) 236-1471

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